Today I traveled back to the agriculture campus to give a presentation at SAC, which is a division of Scotland's Rural College (SRUC). I met with livestock consultants (which are extension agents) and vets. They gave me an introduction of the work they do and I gave a presentation on CCE and the NYC Watershed, which they were very interested to learn about.
SRUC and SAC operate using research, consulting and learning. Farmers benefit from the services offered by SAC, as livestock consultants work in 23 local offices around the country. Livestock consultants work in the areas of sheep and beef production. These consultants also work closely with veterinarians to diagnose new and emerging diseases, changes in disease patterns and advise the government when making decisions concerning agriculture in the UK.
All livestock farmers operate under the Scottish Animal Health Planning System (SAHPS). This program is facilitated by vets and very similar to NYSCHAP (New York State Cattle Health Assurance Program), but primarily for sheep and beef farms. Essentially, the SAHPS program is used to keep database records of farm animals and ultimately ensure carbon footprint is reduced per kg of beef or sheep produced. A perk of this program is farmers have 24/7 web access to these records. The SAHPS system seems very advanced and definitely demonstrates the value of record keeping.
We discussed all of the agencies that farmers work with, and sure enough, Scotland agriculture agencies have as many acronyms as we do!
- SEPA (Scottish Environmental Protection Agency) is the country's environmental regulator and monitors water purification and quality. SEPA can fine farmers for improper practices.
- Consultants help farmers with the WFRS (Whole Farm Review Scheme). The WFRS helps farmers to develop environmentally and financially sustainable businesses.
- IACS (Integrated Administrative Control System) is used to claim agriculture schemes and subsidies.
- Scotland operates under the CAP (Common Agriculture Policy) of the EU.
We had a lively discussion about many topics - manure storage, water supply systems, milk pricing structures, milk cooperatives, clinical testing for disease, and bull calves. It was great to talk agriculture with these knowledgable people, I felt very privileged. After the presentations and discussion, I was taken on a tour of the campus farms.
SRUC and SAC operate using research, consulting and learning. Farmers benefit from the services offered by SAC, as livestock consultants work in 23 local offices around the country. Livestock consultants work in the areas of sheep and beef production. These consultants also work closely with veterinarians to diagnose new and emerging diseases, changes in disease patterns and advise the government when making decisions concerning agriculture in the UK.
All livestock farmers operate under the Scottish Animal Health Planning System (SAHPS). This program is facilitated by vets and very similar to NYSCHAP (New York State Cattle Health Assurance Program), but primarily for sheep and beef farms. Essentially, the SAHPS program is used to keep database records of farm animals and ultimately ensure carbon footprint is reduced per kg of beef or sheep produced. A perk of this program is farmers have 24/7 web access to these records. The SAHPS system seems very advanced and definitely demonstrates the value of record keeping.
We discussed all of the agencies that farmers work with, and sure enough, Scotland agriculture agencies have as many acronyms as we do!
- SEPA (Scottish Environmental Protection Agency) is the country's environmental regulator and monitors water purification and quality. SEPA can fine farmers for improper practices.
- Consultants help farmers with the WFRS (Whole Farm Review Scheme). The WFRS helps farmers to develop environmentally and financially sustainable businesses.
- IACS (Integrated Administrative Control System) is used to claim agriculture schemes and subsidies.
- Scotland operates under the CAP (Common Agriculture Policy) of the EU.
We had a lively discussion about many topics - manure storage, water supply systems, milk pricing structures, milk cooperatives, clinical testing for disease, and bull calves. It was great to talk agriculture with these knowledgable people, I felt very privileged. After the presentations and discussion, I was taken on a tour of the campus farms.
Dave Ross, a researcher at SRUC, is currently doing some amazing work measuring greenhouse gas production from animals and land. He received a grant to design and install six chambers that measure greenhouse gases. The chambers at SRUC are prototype chambers; others have now been installed in Brazil, Australia, India and Canada. The world-class research conducted here is part of the "GreenCow Project". Here's a link for more info:
http://www.sruc.ac.uk/info/120194/beef_and_sheep_research_centre/413/greencow_project
Below are beef cattle used in the GreenCow studies. Cattle at the research barn include: Limousin, Aberdeen Angus, Charolais and crosses of the three.
http://www.sruc.ac.uk/info/120194/beef_and_sheep_research_centre/413/greencow_project
Below are beef cattle used in the GreenCow studies. Cattle at the research barn include: Limousin, Aberdeen Angus, Charolais and crosses of the three.
Feed stations with hoods that measure methane output. 97% of methane produced from cattle exits from the front end of the animals. Animals are fed a cereal or forage TMR. The cereal is barley based and the forage is rye grass based.
There are 6 individual chambers. The studies measured one beef cattle at a time, two sheep or a cow with calf.
View from the inside of the chamber. Animals are housed on a rubber mat and no bedding is used during the experiment.
Study animals are acclimated to this barn by being housed in the pens on the right for a week before entering a chamber. The longest an animal is in a chamber is three days.
Fresh air inlet system.
Methane, carbon dioxide, oxygen and hydrogen are measured.
An old barn at the research farm with the Pentland Hills in the background. We passed barns filled with wheat and barley straw.
I passed this building on the way to SAC. All of these buildings, plus the University of Edinburgh vet school, make up the ag campus.